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Evaluation of the National Diploma in Adult Basic Education and Training with regard to the demands of the ABET world of work

Thesis (MTech (Education))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2005 / The focus of this research is the evaluation of the National Diploma in Adult
Basic Education and Training (ABET) for the purpose of suggesting
improvements that could enable ABET diplomates to meet the demands of their
challenging ABET world of work. The research study is based on the reflections
of employed ABET diplomates and their employers on the relevance and
usefulness of the ABET qualification in the workplace.
The research is set against the general literature on the linkages between higher
education and workplaces in general and the need for the development of work
integrated curricula and high workplace competence levels in particular. The
research also draws on literature that relate to the National Qualifications
Framework (NQF) in the current South African education system and the role
that could be played by learnerships and service-learning in the development of
ABET practitioners. Reference is also made to the literature on employability of
graduates, the contextual nature of the ABET world of work, work-based
learning, and pedagogy or andragogy that is needed to support workplace
practices.
Qualitative evaluation approaches and narrative data production methods in the
context of teaching and learning were used. The lecturers, ABET diplomates and
their employers were interviewed in order to find out how the National Diploma in
ABET prepared the diplomates to be effective and efficient in their ABET world of
work. Curriculum documents for the National Diploma in ABET were also
consulted.
The research findings indicated that employed ABET diplomates find it difficult to
meet all the demands of the workplace in general and to demonstrate an
understanding of unit standards and outcomes when preparing lessons and
planning learner activities in particular.
The study therefore calls for higher education institution to find alternative ways
of offering the National Diploma in ABET by establishing partnerships with
workplaces and work closely with potential employers of ABET diplomates. Such
collaborative efforts could result in the development of work-integrated curricula
which could enable ABET diplomates to spend more time in the workplace than
in the classroom. The study recommends that higher education institutions
should be involved in ABET Practitioner learnerships that provide work-based
learning and in service-learning which provides community service experience in
order to provide learners with an opportunity to connect theory with practice and
ideology with actuality.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:cput/oai:localhost:20.500.11838/1932
Date January 2005
CreatorsManona, Barbara Nomanesi
PublisherCape Peninsula University of Technology
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
Rightshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/za/

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